by Gina Gordon
Despite Cole’s wraparounds, the glare from the sun off the water was blinding. He paddled like mad, alternating sides. He had a slight lead, but Dave and Ian were a stroke behind.
In the background, the hoots and hollers of their significant others carried over the water. He knew Penn would be doing a good job of holding her own. But trying to hold her own was so not the Penn he knew. The Penn he knew would have her elbows up, pushing her sisters-in-law out of the way, one hard jab at a time.
He shook his head, focusing firmly on the buoy. He was just a few strokes away. Dave’s kayak rammed into his, but Cole held his ground, using his paddle to swerve his vessel to the right. He squeezed between Dave and the buoy and grabbed the red flag with his left hand.
He paddled around and beelined it back to the beach after quickly clipping the flag to his T-shirt. Dave was right behind him. When they got to shallow water, Cole leaped out and dragged the kayak to shore.
Penn stood off to the side, biting her fingernails, while Cathy and Beth cheered on their husbands. She had nothing to be nervous about. He was going to win this thing. For her.
He felt Dave right behind him. One trip, one fumble, and it would be all over.
Dave muscled his way beside him, but he shoved him with his left shoulder. They battled for the lead, and by some miracle, Dave tripped trying to take him down. Cole charged ahead, reaching Harold with his flag securely pinned to his shirt. He flung his arms in the air.
His exhilaration was cut short when Penn launched herself into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist, squeezing him with a strength he’d never guess she was capable of.
He took care to hold her, despite the overwhelming urge to lower his hands and cup her tight, round ass. Instead, he brought one hand up to cradle the back of her head.
He heard her short breaths in his ear, felt the pounding of her heart against his own chest, smelled her citrus-y shampoo, and groaned when he registered the warmth of her flesh against his stomach.
He felt it all, every nuance of her body language, and in two seconds, she was going to feel his pressed against her ass.
He grabbed her under the arms and pried her away from his body. This was not the time to discover there might be a new layer to their relationship—one that pushed the boundaries he’d been so intent on keeping in line. And it definitely wasn’t the place, since they were in public.
As if recognizing they’d crossed a line, she stepped back once she’d steadied herself on the sand. Instead of looking at her, he locked his gaze on the sand below.
“Fair is fair.” Penn’s father approached and clapped him on the shoulder. “Your appearance this year might very well have changed the dynamic of the games, Mr. Murphy.”
Not just of the games. But of Cole’s relationship with Penn. By the end of the week, they were either going to be best friends—closer than ever—or he’d lose the only friend he might one day trust with the truth.
Chapter Three
Penn stared at her reflection in her hotel room mirror, trying her best to swipe a gloss applicator across her lips. But it was a lost cause. Her hundred-watt smile made it virtually impossible to put it on smoothly.
She didn’t look any different. But inside, she felt vindicated.
Suck on that, Foster clan.
She shook her head. No reason to get cocky. She hadn’t won anything yet. Today was just a friendly challenge. A challenge where Cole had handed her brothers their asses. And the look on Beth’s face when Dave lost—oh my God. Penn sighed with contentedness. Oh, man, she was never going to get that pissed-off expression out of her head.
But if today was a foreshadowing of events to come, she was totally going to win. She felt it in her bones. And it was all because of the hulking man who now stood in the doorway to her bathroom.
She’d felt his presence even before his reflection appeared in the mirror. He just had that effect on her. As if they were connected on a level more intimate and all-consuming, more potent, than any star-crossed lovers.
Not that they were in love or anything.
“Now, that is the smile of someone who’s gloating.”
She ran the tip of her finger under her left eye, wiping away a few lines of black mascara that had transferred from her eyelashes, then turned. “And I have you to thank for it.”
The moment her eyes landed on him, her stomach tightened in excitement.
He had rested his forearm on the doorjamb and leaned in, the white linen of his button-down shirt lifting on one side, exposing his tanned skin and the line of hair that ran down his chest and disappeared into his shorts. And as she was checking him out, he was doing the same. His gaze roamed over her body, taking in the curves she’d squeezed into a red sundress.
The look in his eyes was disarming. She’d also seen it when she’d launched herself at him after his win today.
Desire.
It flickered in his gaze, and it took everything she had not to pull him down on top of her right then and there. She’d been there, done that, and suffered the effects of her bad decisions.
So, she did what she did best when it came to Cole Murphy. It was time for a little tease.
“It’s a little hot in here, right?” She slipped off the tiny sweater she’d put over her sundress, exposing the body part she knew he couldn’t take his eyes off. The minidress had a built-in bra so her breasts were pushed together high, giving her perfect cleavage. And when she bent over, the hem of her dress lifted, giving him an excellent view of where thigh met ass cheek.
She looked in the mirror and caught his eyes. Oh, yeah. He liked it. That jawbone was twitching a mile a minute, and she saw his hand make a fist and his forearm clench where it rested on the doorframe.
She turned, rested her bum on the bathroom vanity, and asked, “Did you have a good time with Dave and Ian?”
It took him a minute to gather himself and to stop staring at her body, but eventually, he jerked a nod. “They’re good guys.”
“You know the reason they invited you for a drink was because Dave didn’t want to go back to his room quite yet.” She didn’t blame Dave one bit. Over the last ten years, she had learned that Beth was even more competitive than her brother, and she made no effort to conceal that behavior. In fact, Penn had a real suspicion it was the reason Dave fell in love with her in the first place.
“I got that after a few minutes.” Cole laughed. “It took some coaxing to get him to leave the bar.” He pushed off the doorjamb and walked into the bathroom, past the glass shower stall, and sat on the edge of the Jacuzzi tub. Resting his hands casually on either side of his body, he said, “Your whole family, even the in-laws, are…intense.”
She scoffed. “That’s a nice way of putting it.” She let herself relax. “Needless to say, family game night was, and still remains, a nightmare.”
She turned back to the mirror and picked up her gloss before swiping the applicator across her lips. “Was your family competitive?” she asked.
He gave her his best are-you-kidding-me look. “Have you met Neil Harrison?”
She knew all about his brothers. She worked with them every day. He didn’t have to school her in their behaviors and quirks. “Not your Madewood family, your real family.” Shit, Penn. Could you be more insensitive? “I mean…your biological parents.”
His face instantly grew serious. “The Madewoods are my real family.”
She’d hit a nerve. But he wasn’t getting off that easy.
She gazed at him in the mirror, her foot tapping on the tile. When her eyebrow quirked up in a challenge, he conceded. She got a mumbled answer.
“I don’t remember.”
She was calling bullshit on that. But she wasn’t going to pry. At least, not yet.
They were off to family dinner, which, for a change, she was actually looking forward to. Not just because Cole would be by her side. This time, she could finally show them her true competitive nature. She now had the means to put her money where
her mouth was.
“When you won that challenge, it was the best I’ve felt around my family in a really long—” She stopped and looked up to face him. “Ever.”
Thirty years old, and it had taken this long for her to truly feel like a winner. And she hadn’t even won the race herself.
She took a deep breath. Now was not the time to get mopey. She had plenty of time this week to prove she could win on her own. And with Cole here to support her, she knew she could do it.
Silence grew between them until he stood and wandered over to the vanity.
He fiddled with one of her eyeliners sitting on the counter, twirling the stick, his hand getting closer and closer to where hers rested on the vanity. Personal space had always been an issue for Cole. Until he set foot on this island. Maybe harmless flirting didn’t mean the same thing in a tropical paradise.
His fingers brushed the side of her hand and she gasped. Then, intentionally, he stroked the top of her hand. “Your skin is so soft.” His was hard, roughened from the years spent with his hands preparing food.
He turned and reached out, his index finger drawing a line across her bottom lip. She couldn’t help it; she shivered. A full-body shudder that started at the base of her spine and tingled its way up. She hated that he had such an effect on her. It made it impossible to keep her desire for him in check.
She looked up, deep into his eyes. Silence hung between them, and in that moment, they communicated more than any conversation they’d ever had.
Desire, plain as day, danced in his eyes. She knew it by the way his chest heaved, the way his eyes zeroed in on her breasts… And she’d bet her entire savings if she pressed her palm to his chest, his heartbeat would be going a mile a minute.
But there was no chance for her to respond. No chance for her to even register what was about to happen, because it just…happened.
His lips smashed down on hers, and he groaned into her mouth. It vibrated through her body, settling low in her stomach and awakening the parts of her she’d been trying so hard to keep undercover.
He was an expert with his lips and tongue. Their mouths tangled together in a frantic rhythm, and when his hand pressed against her lower back to pull her close, exactly where she had always longed to be, she moaned into his mouth. Every inch of her skin ignited at the direct contact. Her nipples were hard, and there was no hiding it when they rubbed against his chest.
This was how she’d always imagined kissing Cole Murphy would be like. The all-consuming explosion of two bodies desperate for more.
But then he tensed, waking her out of the desire-filled stupor, both of them stepping away from the kiss at the same time.
She sucked in a hard, shaky breath and brought her fingers up to press against her throbbing lips.
He looked like he’d just seen a ghost. As if the sight of her, needy and wanting more from him, was the scariest thing he’d ever seen.
“I’m…sorry. I didn’t…” He ran a hand up the back of his neck, and it ended up fisting in his hair.
She stared back into chocolate eyes that were finally showing her something more than icy distance. But when she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out.
Say something, damn it. Words!
When she didn’t say anything, his expression softened into a frown. “Let’s just forget we did that.”
She had been like a cat in heat, unable to maintain any kind of coherent thought. Maybe that was what happened when you repressed three years of sexual tension.
He wanted to forget it. He’d been the one to pull away, rejecting her just as quickly as he’d kissed her. Unfortunately, she didn’t think she could forget the kiss so easily.
Her shoulders slumped forward and her chin dropped. Her body was still primed, buzzing with need for him, but Cole was right to pull away. She couldn’t bring herself to make her fantasy a reality. She had too much to lose. She couldn’t risk another career move being subject to an affair.
“I’ll wait for you out there.” He pointed to the living area and walked out.
Being horny every minute of the day was not the drama she’d anticipated having to deal with when she’d stepped on the plane for Hawaii.
She was going to have to get her head in the game and off of Cole’s body, if she had any hope of winning that cup.
…
With nervousness in his stomach, Cole sat with the entire Foster clan at the resort steakhouse. All thirteen of them, including baby Hannah.
“So, Cole. Tell us about yourself.” Harold sat at the head of the table, his arm around the chair of his wife who sat beside him.
“Dad, really, don’t you read the papers?” Cathy said as she battled with Penn to take the seat beside him.
Penn let out a heavy sigh and relented, allowing Cathy to lower into the seat to his left. Penn had no choice but to walk around the table and sit beside Ian.
He wasn’t sure if the separation was a relief or a nightmare. That kiss…
Had been a huge mistake. Now that he knew how explosive it was between them, how could he ever go back to just being friends? Every time he looked at her, like right now, he wanted to lower his zipper and sit her down on his cock.
“I read quality publications, dear.” The sound of Harold’s voice was enough to nip his daydream in the bud. “Not gossip rags.”
So noted. Penn’s father didn’t approve of the Madewood notoriety. Cole was going to have to wow him with other skills.
What? Wow? Since when did he have to wow anyone? He was here as a friend, not a boyfriend. He was here to help Penn win that stupid cup. Nothing more.
Then don’t kiss her, asshole.
“Well, sir. I’m a chef. I have my own restaurant in Toronto. I was adopted by a wonderful woman, and I have three adopted brothers.”
“And you’re Pennelope’s boss,” he said.
Cole couldn’t figure out his tone. It was half disdain, half curiosity. But he wasn’t going to let it faze him.
“Not really. It’s the Madewood Corporation that employs her. ” He might be an owner, but Neil was the businessman, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the corporation. Cole just wanted to cook.
He looked over at Penn, who bit down on her bottom lip and picked at her fingernail on her lap. Who the fuck was this woman? He didn’t know if it was her family or the awkwardness between them because of that kiss that had caused her to retreat into herself. Her insecurity twisted in his gut. For the first time since she’d sat across the table, he wanted to reach out and comfort her.
“But Penn always seems to do what she pleases.” He looked over at her and winked. “No matter who’s in charge.”
Dave scoffed. “Pennie disobey orders? Highly unlikely.”
The rest of the table smiled in agreement. Suddenly, her quiet, introverted act all made sense. She was hiding from them. These people had a certain image of her, and she was too afraid to rock the boat. He’d bet she believed her real personality would elicit outright disapproval.
That vibrant light in her eyes, the light he hated and loved equally, dimmed whenever they were around her family. But family was supposed to love you no matter what. It made him angry that they wouldn’t immediately embrace the amazing woman she’d become. And that just wouldn’t do.
“We’ve been to all three of your family’s restaurants,” Ian said from the other end of the table. “All top notch. Delicious food.”
“Thank you.”
“Cole makes the best chicken lime tacos I’ve ever eaten,” Penn blurted, doing her best to pretend she didn’t care that Dave was holding his finger near her face, but not touching. Apparently, Dave hadn’t grown up.
But once again, Penn had come to his rescue to further validate his cooking skills, because that’s what she always did, had always done, for three damn years.
Why had he kissed her in the bathroom? All it did was scramble his brain and make him forget why he was really here. To return her kindness and help her win that cup. A
t least he’d had enough sense to walk away before he fucked her.
Don’t be a perv, Murphy.
“Tacos?” Cathy laughed. “Well, he definitely learned the way to your heart.”
“We had to have them once a week when we were kids because of Pennie,” Dave explained.
“Well, I’d make them every day if she asked.” It’s not like he could ever verbalize a thank you. Cooking was the only way he knew how to say it, without having to say it.
“Sounds like something a boyfriend would say.” Christine smiled at him from across the table. She seemed like the quiet one, but so far, the blatant teasing had come from her.
He was not boyfriend material.
“You two have separate rooms, right?” Cathy looked horrified. “Because Mom and Dad didn’t let Ian and I sleep in the same room until we were married.”
Penn groaned, and not in pleasure. She hid her face in her hands, mumbling her words. “We’re not dating, Cathy, of course we have separate rooms.” Then she looked up, right at her father, as if the validation of their “just friends” status was necessary.
“You Madewood boys sure do love the spotlight,” her mother said, then quickly took a sip of her pink-colored drink. Her blond hair was sculpted into a perfect bob, which she habitually tucked behind her ears.
Cole’s stomach dropped. He hated when the conversation turned to their celebrity status—a side effect of being adopted by a rich socialite. But it was something he wanted no part of. “Some of us more than others.”
“I thought it was just awful how someone put your brother’s private moment online last year,” Cathy said.
Last summer, Neil and his girlfriend, Carson Kelly, were taped having sex in the kitchen of his new restaurant, before they had opened the doors. Luckily, the business hadn’t suffered because of it.
“I called Pennie as soon as I saw it,” Cathy said as little Andy snuggled up between them and sat in her lap. “Some people have no boundaries.”
“Cathy might have a Google alert set for ‘Madewood,’” Ian said, outing his wife.
She waved him off. “You make it seem like I’m a stalker.”
